Business

Duralee Fine Furniture is expanding in Burke County and plans to add 41 new jobs at its 180,000-square-foot plant. A division of Bay Shore, N.Y.-based Duralee Fabrics, the company received a $410,000 grant from the N.C. Rural Infrastructure Authority for renovations to the building, which was built in 1963.

Sealed Air will break ground on its new Charlotte headquarters on Thursday. The maker of Bubble Wrap is moving its headquarters from Elmwood Park, N.J., and plans to employ more than 1,200 people in Charlotte.

LED bulb-maker Cree plans to consolidate two manufacturing facilities in Durham as part of an $85 million restructuring. Sales of its LED products fell 23% in the company's third quarter. Cree expects fourth quarter revenue will be about $375 million, lower than the $420 million to $440 million the company had previously predicted.

Keith McLoughlin is stepping down as CEO of Swedish appliance-maker Electrolux, a little more than two months after Jack Truong resigned as CEO of the company's North American division. Electrolux North America said earlier this month it was cutting 1% of its workforce, including an undisclosed number at its Charlotte headquarters.

Merck cut an unspecified number of contract positions at its Durham vaccine-manufacturing plant as part of a global effort to improve operations. A company spokesperson said no full-time jobs were cut at the plant, which employs about 1,400 people.

Studio South, the company that once proposed building movie studios at the site of the former Eastland Mall in Charlotte, is now considering building a $125 million studio complex on the Catawba Reservation in York County, S.C.

Bold Rock Hard Cider expects to begin production at its new, 22,500-square-foot Mills River facility by the end of the summer. The Virginia-based company plans to use Henderson County apples in its hard cider.

Blue Bloodhound will create 191 jobs over three years in Catawba County. The company, which provides software for the trucking industry, will invest $400,000 in its location in the historic Moretz Mills in downtown Hickory.

Bayer CropScience celebrated a $33 million renovation at its North American headquarters in Research Triangle Park. The company also broke ground on a $26.9 million greenhouse that will serve as an R&D center for soybeans, cotton and wheat. The subsidiary of Germany-based Bayer produces seeds and crop-protection products and employs 785 in the Triangle.